Sept. 18, 2016 – Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Every great mistake has a halfway moment, a split second when it can be recalled and perhaps remedied.— Pearl S. Buck

We make mistakes because we are human, we are imperfect, we are frequently out of touch with the rhythms of the moment. When our minds are one place, either still trapped by the past or in limbo due to fear of the future, we fail to revere the experience of the present. And only when we salute completely the moment do we respond accurately to its meaning.

Seldom is a mistake as important as we allow it to be. Always we can rechart our steps; never is a task completed without some modifications along the way. Perhaps we’d do well to consider all mistakes as simply modifications in the original plans. Corrections triggered by mistakes may well be responsible for better outcomes. In fact, mistakes may be part of the process necessary to keep our spiritual program focused. Their role in our lives may be of greater significance than we’d ever imagined. However, we shouldn’t dwell on the mistake but, rather, on the remedy.

Today I’ll have to modify my steps, probably a few times. And that’s to be expected.